Mi Vida Loca, My Crazy Life

This book is about what life was like in the twentieth century as experienced by one who was born in a small farming and ranching community during the Great Depression and grew up with, lived among, played with, and worked with people of Hispanic descent like himself, and then in a small New Mexico city among people whose descendants came mostly from Europe, Asia, Central and South America, and the Indigenous People who were here first. Almost his entire life and career were spent living among, and/or working with, and for the people of the Navajo, Zuni, Acoma, Laguna, Apache, Hoopa and Yurok Tribes and served in an Administrative capacity with the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. From a small boy herding sheep in the foothills of the San Pedro Mountains of Northern New Mexico to a country boy living in the city, to a young man serving his country during the Korean Conflict (sometimes referred to as The Forgotten War and Frozen Chosin), to working for his Country in a Branch of the Federal Government that provides human services and assistance to the Indigenous Peoples of this country, to raising a family of eight children, and the adventures he and his family had along the way while living and working in various Indian Reservations located throughout New Mexico, Arizona and California. This was a journey of Learning, Living, and Loving that taught the author and his family the true meaning of the word love; love of God, love of self, love for one and other, and love for others. It has been a life mostly happy, sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes full of grief and tears, but always full of love and thankfulness to our Creator who is the source of our strength and who makes everything possible. Everything that’s written herein has been gleaned from the life and experiences of the author during his eighty-five (and counting) years on this planet, conversations with his parents and his numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, co-workers, and other native New Mexicans who have lived and experienced the kind of lives written about in this book. For accuracy and veracity, he has referenced the works of other New Mexico authors and on-line services such as Wikipedia. He has tried to be as true and accurate as possible in his account and asks for the readers forgiveness for any information which may be found to be erroneously and unintentionally presented.